Panthers Suffer SSC Heartbreaker Falling 55-46 to Tampa Spartans

MELBOURNE, Fla. (women’s basketball) — The Panthers relinquish their coveted top spot in the Sunshine State Conference falling two places after tonight’s
upset at home succumbing to the Tampa Spartans 55-46 at the Clemente Center in NCAA II women’s basketball action tonight.

Shooting was the name of the “Spartans Game” averaging 45.5% from the field to Tech’s 36.0% from the field. The Panthers defense had a tough time shutting
down junior center Sheena Walton (Largo, Fla.) allowing her to notch a game high in scoring and rebounding. Walton finished with a 21 point and ten rebound
double double for the conference match-up.

Junior teammate and fellow starter Shay Mackey (Plant City, Fla.) pitched in 15 points en route to the Spartans upset over the Panthers.

Tech had no players reach double figures for the night. Senior starter Jen Tamilio (Salem, Mass.) led her team with nine points while pulling down six
rebounds. Fellow starting senior Danise Fequiere (Miami, Fla.) and junior Kristin Heminger (Merritt Island, Fla.) each tallied eight points. Heminger led
Tech under the boards with seven rebounds.

Junior newcomer making her second appearance this season Casselle Russell (Miami, Fla.) also garnered her first career points shooting flawless from the
field in her ten minutes of playing time.

The Panthers who were up at the half by a point 29-28, got out-played in the second half only scoring a mere 17 points for the loss. The crimson and gray
hoopsters shot a poor 0-for-9 from behind the arc and 26.9% from the field which was the key factor in the loss compared to a remarkable 56.3% shooting by
the Spartans in the second period.

Florida Tech falls to 11-3 on the season and 3-1 in the SSC while Tampa pushed ahead to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference grabbing the 5th place spot
in the Sunshine State standings. Follow the women’s team on the road on Saturday when the travel to Saint Leo for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off and remember to
listen live and click on the live statistics at http://gopanthers.fit.edu/stretch.php. Also check out
Florida Today’s story on the game at http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070111/SPORTS/701110340/1002/SPORTS
written by Carl Kotala.

Newspaper Box Score
University of Tampa vs Florida Tech
01/10/07 5:30 pm at Melbourne, Fla. (Clemente Center)

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA 55, FLORIDA TECH 46

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA (9-5, 2-2)
WALTON, Sheena 9-11 3-5 21; MACKEY, DeShaydia 5-10 5-6 15; KANE, Alexa 1-5
6-8 8; RIDLEY, Brittany 3-5 0-0 7; TAYLOR, Kym 2-3 0-0 4; TAYLOR, Lindsey
0-2 0-0 0; GUIU, Angela 0-0 0-1 0; COOK, Tiara 0-1 0-2 0; WOODARD, Erica 0-7
0-0 0. Totals 20-44 14-22 55.

FLORIDA TECH (11-3, 3-1)
TAMILIO, Jennifer 4-13 0-0 9; FEQUIERE, Danise 3-4 2-2 8; HEMINGER, Kristin
3-9 2-4 8; VAUGHN, Danielle 1-8 2-2 4; RICHARDSON, McKena 2-3 0-3 4; CHASE,
Tenisha 1-4 1-2 4; MUNS, Amanda 1-3 0-0 3; RUSSELL, Casselle 1-1 0-0 2;
McCARTNEY, Megan 1-2 0-0 2; GREENE, Lindsay 1-1 0-0 2; HARRELL, Kristi 0-1
0-0 0; JOHNSON, Shante 0-0 0-0 0; JONES, Sabrina 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-50
7-13 46.

University of Tampa……….. 28 27 – 55
Florida Tech……………… 29 17 – 46

3-point goals–University of Tampa 1-5 (RIDLEY, Brittany 1-3; MACKEY,
DeShaydia 0-2), Florida Tech 3-16 (CHASE, Tenisha 1-1; MUNS, Amanda 1-3;
TAMILIO, Jennifer 1-6; VAUGHN, Danielle 0-2; McCARTNEY, Megan 0-1; HARRELL,
Kristi 0-1; HEMINGER, Kristin 0-2). Fouled out–University of Tampa-None,
Florida Tech-None. Rebounds–University of Tampa 36 (WALTON, Sheena 10),
Florida Tech 31 (HEMINGER, Kristin 7). Assists–University of Tampa 10
(KANE, Alexa 5), Florida Tech 10 (VAUGHN, Danielle 3). Total
fouls–University of Tampa 14, Florida Tech 18. Technical fouls–University
of Tampa-None, Florida Tech-None. A-284